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Last week I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K in the freezing rain… or as I called it “The Slog.” Well, it seems that in addition to my tech top and finisher’s medal, I picked up an additional bit of bling. An unwanted bit of bling.

A nasty cough.

Once I got home and showered in preparation for some Super Bowl snacking, I started hacking. And I pretty much haven’t stopped.

I coughed through four fun quarters of football and commercials on Super Bowl Sunday. And that hacking kept on steadily through the night and intensified into Monday (as I rested my legs). By Monday night I was a tad bit concerned. My dad has been recovering from pneumonia for the past few weeks and the news (and social media) have been overflowing with reports of this year’s uber-nasty flu bug.

Been eating these things like popcorn.

So I made a doctor’s appointment for last Tuesday afternoon and skipped my planned Tuesday morning run (which made me cranky). Come midday, I went to the doctor’s office and they slapped a flu mask on me as soon as I walked through the door (as a precaution). The nurse and then the doctor poked and prodded me and listened to my lungs. On the upside, I had no fever, my lungs were clear and I showed no signs of pneumonia or flu. I just had a bit of a cold and a nasty cough, due to the dry winter air…oh, and running a race in a freezing rain storm.

The doc recommended that I take it easy while I was hacking and feeling heavy in the chest. So for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I was on the sidelines, just coughing and resting. I think I’ll go out for a short run on Tuesday as I’m finally starting to feel better.

On the downside, a full week off from running and exercise has done nothing to help my already less-than-peak conditioning. But better to err on the side of caution than run too soon and risk getting something that will sideline me even longer. I’ve got five weeks until my next race (Atlanta Half Maraton on March 18th) so I should still be able to get myself in a semblance of shape by then.

And on the upside, I have had a chance to read a book or two, clean up my e-mail inbox and binge watch a couple of Netflix series that I’m behind on. So it’s not a total loss. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go see what hijinks Eleven and those boys from Hawkins are up to.

Hack up, avoid the Demogorgon… and Run on!

Have you been sidelined at all with an illness this Winter? And what’s your favorite current “binge” show?

But before this weekend, I had never run a race in the cold cold cold rain. Unlike a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, rain and cold are not two great tastes that go great together.

On Sunday, I ran the Atlanta Hot Chocolate 15K (that’s 9.32 miles to you and me) in a downpour while the weather at the start was rather nippy. Needless to say, it was an experience I’ll remember. Or as I like to refer to it… a slog.

All week I had been monitoring the forecast for the race, checking my weather app almost hourly. Rain had been predicted for days, but I hoped that maybe the conditions would shift and we’d be spared from getting dumped on. Read the rest of this entry →